


Full Circle

by clotpoleofthelord (plantainleaf)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Graduation, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-03
Updated: 2013-07-03
Packaged: 2017-12-17 13:30:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/868103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plantainleaf/pseuds/clotpoleofthelord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean's watching Sam finally graduate and he couldn't be more proud.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Full Circle

They file down the line of chairs, Dean searching for the best view, Cas watching the hundreds of spectators curiously.

"Here okay with you?" Dean asks, shading his eyes from the bright summer sun as he points to a cluster of chairs. They're just far enough back from the stage that they don't have to crane their necks, but close enough that they can see the faces of the men and women standing in a long, winding line behind the podium. Dean squints, trying to find the familiar shaggy head of hair, but it's all Abbotts and Browns and Chesters in the front; Winchesters are way in the back with Youngs and Zabinis.

He tugs at his tie, loosening it slightly, and fiddles with his bracelets until a gentle hand comes to rest on his own.

He looks up into clear blue eyes watching him closely.

"Dean, are you all right?"

He nods. "Yeah, I'm fine, Cas. Just want this to get started is all." But he turns his hand in Cas's and intertwines their fingers. Cas squeezes his hand and he returns the pressure, running his thumb along the former angel's wrist.

It's been two years since the angels fell.

The first few months were rough, Dean admits that much. Cas had appeared at the bunker door one night, frail and human and hurting but alive, and Dean and Sam had welcomed him into their lives and their home as a full time resident of the Bunker.

It had taken him some time to get used to his new species; some things came easy, like eating and reading and poker. Other things were difficult, like learning to order delivery, or humiliating, like the first time he had to use the bathroom and Dean had had to walk him through the process through the closed door. But he'd adapted, as Dean knew he would, and now it would be almost impossible for anyone watching to tell he was anything but a slightly odd human.

For a while, they'd hunted as a team of three. It worked, the three of them functioning together in a way they never had before, but deep down he'd known it wouldn't last.

One day a few months after what they were calling the Fall Sam had come to the door of Dean's room, standing awkwardly against the doorframe. In one hand, he clutched a letter.

"Dean?" He'd asked, shakily.

Dean had closed his book, sitting up from the bed and frowning. "Yeah, Sam?"

"I, uh-- I did some research, and apparently my credits from Stanford are still active."

Dean had a feeling he knew where this was going. "You want to go back. " it's not a question.

Sam shakes his head. "Not to Stanford." He glances down at the letter. "I applied to the University of Nebraska. It's just a few hours' drive and--" he runs a finger along the edge of the envelope. "I really want to do this, Dean."

Dean had stood, stepping towards his brother and clapping a hand on his shoulder. "So do it."

"You-- you think I should?"

"Yeah. You want this, Sam. You've always wanted this. If it gives you a chance to get out of this, take it."

A strange little smile had spread across Sam's face. "So, uh, get this. There's a program at UN--it's a interdisciplinary program between Classics and Religious Studies--called Myth and Magic Studies."

The smile spread across Dean's face before Sam even finished speaking.

\----

And now they're here, sitting in the hot Nebraska sun with hundreds of proud parents and siblings and friends three semesters later.

Cas's hand is cool in his, a steadying force against the storm of emotions Dean's feeling at the sight of the "congratulations" banners and mortar boards and long black gowns.

Cas leans over and presses a warm kiss to his cheek as the first speaker steps out onto the stage, and Dean feels himself blushing but it calms something in him.

The speech is longer than Dean expected; this guy's some sort of local celebrity (something about corn, maybe?) and he speaks about drive and hard work and perseverance through obstacles and Dean has to resist the urge to smirk at this guy who's biggest problem seems to have been being born short and with a tendency to baldness. Sam would have rocked this speech, he thinks. The kid knows something about tenacity.

Next is a professor to introduce the valedictorian. Dean tunes most of it out, still scanning the gathered students for his brother and frowning when he still can't spot him. Usually Sam's ridiculous height and hair make him stand out, but Dean's not having any luck.

That's when Cas draws in a gasp and Dean looks up to see what's caught his attention and he realizes why he couldn't find Sam in the crowd.

His giant baby brother is standing at the podium with a sheet of paper, smiling shyly out at the crowd with dimpled cheeks and a hand running nervously through his hair.

Sam clears his throat and reaches down, pulling the microphone to a height more suitable for his absurd size. He looks down at his paper one more time, then begins.

"I'm not sure I can tell you how surprised I am to be standing here," he starts, and a small chuckle runs through the crowd. "I started college almost fifteen years ago, and I made it three years before life got in the way. I never thought I'd get a chance to finish, but here I am." He takes a deep breath. "And I couldn't have done it alone." He turns to the woman beside him, the one who'd introduced him, and Dean suddenly wishes he'd paid attention to her little speech. "First, thank you to my advisor, who convinced me to apply here in the first place. She's helped me through the toughest parts of this degree, and she has more knowledge in her field than I ever will." The woman grins at him and Dean realizes where he knows her from: she's the sister of a man they'd helped with a haunting in Omaha a few years ago. He's not sure when she and Sam had gotten a chance to bond on that case since he remembers it was a busy one, and then Cas's hand in his reminds him and he smiles at the memory. That had been the hunt that Sam had discovered them kissing in the room when he was supposed to be doing research and he'd stormed off muttering about rude brothers and their stupid angel boyfriends who need to keep their goddamn pants on.

"I've also got to thank my friend Cas, whose knowledge and resources have helped me through papers, research and long nights of studying." He takes a deep breath. "And finally, I need to thank my brother. Without you, Dean, I wouldn't be here. Literally. You started saving me when I was a baby, and you haven't stopped, and you've always been there watching out for me." Sam's looking straight at him, and his eyes are shining with what might be tears.

To Dean's own horror, he feels himself choking up. Cas squeezes his hand and he holds on tightly.

Sam continues, talking about family and research and myth and magic but Dean's not really able to follow the words. All he knows is that Sam's happy, and Cas is happy, and he's so fucking happy he could explode.


End file.
